Preparation For Hajj

What does Hajj mean?

The Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out during Hajj months. These months are Shawwal, Zul-Qaadah and first ten days of Zul-Hijjah. Hajj can be performed with or without Umrah. That creates three types of Hajj.

What are the types of Hajj?

Hajj Ifrad

That means performing Hajj without Umrah. For those who wear an ihram to just perform Hajj without Umrah during Hajj months is called Hajj Ifrad.

Hajj Tamattu

This pilgrimage consists of two parts; the first is called Umrah and the second Hajj. After performing Umrah, during Hajj months, the Mutamatti ( the person who performs Hajj-e-Tamattu) exits the state of ihram and then enters it again to perform a Hajj.

Anyone intending to perform a Tamattu Hajj should have the intention for Umrah when approaching the Miqat. The intention here should be for Umrah. After performing Umrah they exit ihram. On the day of Tarwiyah, that is the 8th of Dhul-Hijjah, the pilgrim wears an ihram and re-enters in the state of ihram. Lastly, the exits ihram after completing the Hajj rituals.

Hajj Qiran

Literally, Qiran means to combine two things. After performing Umrah a Qarin ( the person who is performing Hajj-e-Qiran) will perform Hajj with that same ihram.

Anyone intending to perform a Qiran Hajj should make intention for both Hajj and Umrah when approaching the Miqat. In this kind of Hajj, it is not allowed for the pilgrim to end the state of ihram after Sa'ay. The pilgrim can exit ihram after performing Hajj.

Shukr qurbani is wajib for those who perform Hajj Qiran and Hajj Tamattu. There is no need for Shukr qurbani for those who perform Hajj Ifrad.

Glossary of Hajj Terms

Al Masjid al Haram

The Masjid al-Ḥaram also called the Sacred Mosque is the largest mosque in the world and situated in the hearth of Mecca.

Months of Hajj

Shawwal, Zul-Qaadah and first ten days of Zul-Hijjah

Ihram

Ihram is a sacred state which people must enter in order to perform the major Hajj or the Umrah. A pilgrim must enter into this state before crossing the Miqat. It consists from niyyah and talbiyah.

Talbiyah

Hateem (Hajr Ismail)

Hateem is a low wall originally part of the Kaaba. It is a semi-circular wall opposite, but not connected to, the north-west wall of the Kaaba known as the Hateem.

Al Hajar al Aswad (Black Stone)

The Black Stone is the eastern cornerstone of the Kaaba. The Prophet said (peace be upon him) : "The Black Stone is from Paradise." [Ahmad, At-Tirmithi: Hasan Saheeh] Muslims believe that the stone was originally pure and dazzling white, but has since turned black because of the sins of the people who touch it.

Multazam

There is a part of the Kaabah that pilgrims adhere to for the purpose of supplicating and seeking refuge, and is located between the Black Stone and the gate.

Maqaam Ibraaheem

It is the stepping stone and carries the imprints of Ibraaheem’s feet.

Meezab-al Rahma

The Meezab-al Rahma is a gold rainwater spout on the roof of the Kaaba that was added after rain caused three walls of the shrine to collapse in 1626.

Zamzam

It is a miraculously generated source of water from Allah , which began thousands of years ago when Ibraaheem’s infant son Ishmael was thirsty and kept crying for water. Millions of pilgrims visit the well each year while performing the Hajj or Umrah pilgrimages, in order to drink its water.

Shaft

It means going around Kaaba once.

Tawaf

Tawaf is one of the rituals of pilgrimage. During the Hajj and Umrah, people go around the Kaaba 7 times in a counterclockwise direction.

Tawaf Ziyarah

The tawaf which has to be performed after Qurbani and shaving.

Farewell Tawaf (Tawaf Al Wada)

The wajib tawaf which needs to be performed before leaving Mecca and Hajj rituals end with it.

Al Safa and Al Marwah

Al Safa and Al Marwah are two small hills located in the east corner of Masjid al-Haram.

Sa’i

Pilgrims walk back and forth seven times during the ritual pilgrimages of Hajj and Umrah. It is also wajib for both Hajj and Umrah.

Wuquf

That means stay for a while in Arafat from the Zawal of 9th of Dhul Hijjah to the dawn of the 10th of Dhul Hijjah. There is also the second wuquf for Muzdalifah which means staying in Muzdalifah area from dawn to sunset on the second day of Eid al-Adha.

Arafat

Arafat is a plain about 12 mile southeast of Mecca. One of the rukn of Hajj which is called wuquf takes place here as well.

Muzdalifah

It lies just southeast of Mina on the route between Mina and Arafat.

Mash’ar al Haram

There is the hill of Kuzah in Muzdalifah. Currently, a masjid built in this area.

Mina

It is situated 5 kilometres to the east of Mecca, and stands on the road from Mecca's city centre to the Hill of Arafat. It covers an area of approximately 20 km. In the valley of Mina is the Jamarat Bridge, the location of the ritual of the Stoning of the Devil with pilgrims commemorating the occasion that the Prophet Ibraaheem stoned the Devil.

Haram Area

This area is Mecca and its surroundings and have been marked in all directions with the name of the locations written on them so that people can see them.

Miqat

Miqat are the stations at which pilgrims on the Hajj or Umrah put on ihram and pronounce niyyah.

Mekki

People who live in the miqat area.

Afaki

People who are not living in the miqat area and come from out of the miqat boundaries to Mecca.

What do we need to know for the preparation of Hajj?

Who is obligated to perform Hajj?

Hajj is fardh once in a lifetime for all Muslim people who meet with required conditions. Someone who meets those requirements has to perform Hajj as soon as possible. If somebody does not go to Hajj having met all the requirements and postpones it to later a later date, that is considered inappropriate. If this kind of people become disabled and unable to go to Hajj in their older age, they must nominate someone on behalf of themselves to go Hajj.

Benefits of Hajj

Hajj is the most important milestone in people’s lives. If someone performs Hajj with a heart and mind of full honesty, it causes remission of all sins and purifies the soul. The Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) said: the performance of Umrah is the expiation for the sins committed between it and the previous one, and the reward of al-Hajj-al-Mabrur (the one accepted by Allah) is nothing but paradise.

Hikmah of Hajj

There are undoubtedly many hikmah hidden in Allah’s order for Dunya and Akhirah. Some of them in order to explain appear below;

Everyone needs to show their worship to Allah. Performing Hajj reminds pilgrims of their incompetence and provides an opportunity to acknowledge their sins and supplicate for forgiveness. Therefore, pilgrims should turn to Allah after leaving everything about their lives. By doing so, pilgrims demonstrate their commitment to Almighty Allah. These rituals give pilgrims irreplaceable worship pleasure.

Kaaba

"Indeed, the first House [of worship] established for mankind was that at Makkah – blessed and a guidance for the worlds." (Holy Quran, 3:96)

Kaaba was built on the location by Adam and Hawwa which was lost during the flood in Noah's time and was finally rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael as mentioned later in the Quran. The Kaaba is a stone cube structure which is made of granite quarried from nearby Kyara Land. The Kaaba is approximately 13.1 m (43 ft) high, with sides measuring 11.03 m (36.2 ft) by 12.86 m (42.2 ft).Inside the Kaaba, the floor is made of marble and limestone. The interior walls, measuring 13 m (43 ft) by 9 m (30 ft), are clad with tiled, white marble halfway to the roof, with darker trimmings along the floor. The floor of the interior stands about 2.2 m (7.2 ft) above the ground area where tawaf is performed. Kiswah is the cloth that covers the Kaaba. It is draped annually on the 9th day of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, the day pilgrims leave for the plains of Mount Arafat during the Hajj.

Every corner of the Kaaba shows different directions. Corner of the Black Stone (East).Corner of Yemen (South-West).Corner of Syria (North-West).Corner of Iraq (North-East).

Masjid al-Haram

The Masjid al Ḥaram is the largest mosque in the world and surrounds Islam's holiest place, the Kaaba, in the center of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

During Prophet Mohammed’s (peace be upon him) era, there was only Kaaba with small surrounds and then the mosque's outer walls being raised and then it became larger in the Omar era. Thereafter, Masjid al-Haram has been renovated to today's standart.

The current structure covers an area of 356,800 square metres (88.2 acres) including the outdoor and indoor praying spaces which allow hundreds of thousands people to pray,tawaf and Sa’I together.There are also Maqam Ibrahim and Zamzam Well as well as Kaaba.

Hajj and Women

There is no difference between men and women in terms of practising an Umrah. However, women are not obligated to wear ihram like men. They wear their clothes, headscarves, socks and pair of shoes as usual. During Tawaf and Sa’i women need to pay more attention to avoid crowds and stampedes. Furthermore, women need to be careful to pray in the separate female praying area. During women’s special days, they can do all the rituals of Hajj except Tawaf. They can enter Masjid al-Haram but not pray in there.